Reese apologizes to struggling Sky after hinting at exit

CHICAGO (AP) — Angel Reese aired her frustrations with the Chicago Sky as the franchise finishes another losing season.

The two-time WNBA All-Star told the Chicago Tribune that she “might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me” if the team doesn’t improve its outlook.

“I am very vocal about what we need and what I want,” she said. “I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me. But while I am here, I’m going to try to stay open-minded about what I have here and maximize that as much as I can.”

Chicago improved to 10-30 after routing Connecticut on Wednesday night. Reese had 18 points and 13 rebounds. The franchise is 3-15 since the All-Star Break, but Reese missed a lot of those games with a back issue.

“I’m not settling for the same … we did this year,” the young star told the paper. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me. I’m willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that’s what I’m going to do this offseason.

“So it’s going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can’t settle for what we have this year.”

Reese, who was the No. 7 pick in the WNBA draft last season, is averaging 14.6 points and and a league-best 12.6 rebounds. She has at least one more season on her rookie contract.

Reese walked back her comments after Wednesday night’s win and said she had already apologized to the team.

“I probably am frustrated with myself right now,” she said. “I think the language was taken out of context and I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates because they’ve been through this with me throughout the whole year.”

Reese said she has to learn from the situation.

“I just have to be better with my language because I know it’s not the message, it’s the messenger, and understanding what I say can be taken any kind of way so I just have to really be better and grow from this,” she said.

Reese told the paper that she wanted coach Tyler Marsh to coach players harder and didn’t think the team’s current roster was good enough to win championships. She also was called out injured point guard Courtney Vandersloot, who is sidelined with an ACL injury. Vandersloot was a big part of the franchise’s only championship in 2021.

“We can’t rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she’s at,” Reese said. “I know she’ll be a great asset for us, but we can’t rely on that. We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who’s been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before.”

___

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball